challenged!

I'm struggling for ideas for my brother and his girlfriend's  fiancees engagement card. Wandering this afternoon I came up with a wedding card I just need to make it work now (though I've got at least 10months to do it!)

But I need to make an engagement card before Friday and my mind is blank!! I'm going to have to look through what I've got and try to come up with something creative tomorrow!!

New cards. I haven't vanished honest!

Thought I'd pop in with a couple more photos since I've been AWOL again! I'm continuing to make cards (and so far succeeded in not buying any cards from shops this year!) though do keep forgetting to take photos of them before I pack them into the envelopes! I've managed to get one back from my brother to photograph and remembered to take a photo of one yesterday before I sent it. I've made others for family but need to speak to them and get pictures!!

A 30th birthday card for a friend. I used a die-cut decoupage and a small happy birthday topper for the main part of the card and then used silver embossing powder to add her name and age. It was a bit of a quick job and the writing is a bit wonky but it hasn't turned out too badly!

My little brother's birthday card (from April!) I used papers from a magazine I had and backed some of them onto black card to add a bit more definition and then used foam pads to add those in the foreground and a stamped greeting to add the extra dimension. He's been a bit obsessed with DIY and important 'life lessons' like fixing an extractor fan and laying a lawn since he moved into his house, so the card accompanied a book on How to do just about everything DIY!

There will be another card to join these soon as my brother has just got engaged while on holiday!! I'm very excited for him and I promise to take a photo of the card I make before I give it to them!! (and I'll take photos of other family cards I've made!

Not had much chance to make cards recently but I have a new toy :-) My mum and dad came up trumps for my birthday and bought me a Big Shot which I can't  wait to have a play with when I get a spare 5 minutes. I've got a couple of cards to make so I'll probably use is to make them :-) Hopefully I'll be back in a couple of days with some new cards to show off!

A few more cards...

As February continues, more cards have been created. I've not had chance to post them as I've not been feeling 100%, but now it's half term, hopefully I've got time to recharge my batteries!

The month started with a Get Well card for my OH's mum who had a knee operation. My first real attempt with stamping and I don't think it's too bad for a first attempt. It didn't look like there was much to it so I raised the stamped image using foam pads and embossed the Get Well Soon with copper embossing powder.

A 17th birthday came next. My parents' Godson and a good family friend. He's really into sport and plays table tennis and cricket regularly. I chose this Wild Rose Studio stamp and coloured it using felt tip pens. I stamped the Happy Birthday message on blue card and glued it to the card so as not to take attention away from the main image by colouring it in bright colours.

With Valentine's Day fast approaching I didn't have long to make a Valentine's card. I used a Forever Friends decoupage kit I've had for a long time and cut out some of the hearts from the sheet to add a bit more detail. The backing paper came from a free Me to You pack I got with a magazine. The XOXO is a rub-on I found in a local craft shop. Although it's not clear, the hearts and the sentiments are raised up using foam pads.

A big month for birthdays!

Lots of friends seem to have birthdays in the next few weeks! I've made 2 more cards this week (both Tatty Teddy) for special birthdays. Last Thursday the minister who baptised and confirmed me (and is mum's best friend) turned 50 so I made a card for her. I used glittery letters for her name which did unfortunately turn out slightly wonky, and there are small gems in 3 of the corners. I think I must have been holding the envelope behind it as the backing paper was straight (and I didn't realise my untidy room was the background!)

This second card is for my best friend. She turns 30 on Friday and I sadly won't be able to celebrate with her this weekend. I just hope it doesn't get too squashed in the post! The shadow makes it look really high but I think it must be the angle I took the picture at.

Get Well Soon

I've finally made a card today, after a bit of a sort out of my crafty box. I do need to buy a couple of storage boxes but wanted to see how many I need (for now) before I went shopping!

A friend is having an operation tomorrow so I've made a quick card for her. I'm not sure I'm 100% happy with it. However I can always find something wrong with my cards. Having a headache that's making my eyes hurt doesn't help though!!

I used a decoupage kit that I've had for years and a couple of new stamps. The backing paper has daisies on, similar to the ones the dog is holding. I think it's the ribbon that I'm not very happy with. I need to practice I think!

Snow!

I've not had much chance to get crafty since Christmas unfortunately :-( I'm hoping that the positive thing to come out of this snow will be a few cards! Since my OH is snowed in at his place, and there's not much fun to be had on your own in the snow I'm going to get some cards made this weekend (finally!)

It's set to continue for a few days apparently so a snow day wouldn't be a huge surprise. Which would mean more cards could be made. Just need to get a couple of other bits done first so I can spread everything out round my room!!

New books

<p>As a 'newbie' to the world of cardmaking I have purchased 2 new how-to books to give me lots of ideas. I now need a spare afternoon so I can put my new ideas into practice

Goodbye 2012!

Not sure much card making will happen over the next few days as I'm going to my OH's for a few nights and not taking much with me. Having said that...I do hope to go shopping on Thursday which will certainly include a trip to HobbyCraft so who knows!? 

I may watch several youtube how to videos and am going to have a go at a bit of origami and iris folding I think. I'll try to post some pictures of whatever I do manage to do!

Happy New Year!

While everyone else (including my OH) were figuring out how to move my dad's new organ into his office in the cellar I created a little birthday card today. I'm not totally happy with it as it's all a bit wonky looking close up (especially the name), though I was concerned at the time that someone could end up at the bottom of the cellar steps with the full weight of an organ on top of them. Took 6 hours to move the thing!

I really must tidy up so I've got space to TRY and organise all my card making stuff!

My first cards

No time for crafting today as I'm heading to the shops straight after lunch. Need to find some nice paper to match some embellishments I was given for Christmas. 

Have (hopefully!) added some of my first cards below!

 A new baby card created using a Forever Friends decoupage kit. If the friend has any more children I've hopefully got a couple of years in which to try and find Tatty Teddy baby inspiration!

 One of the first cards I made. I created this card from a kit and followed the suggested idea on the back of the packaging, adding a few gems. (Must remember to rotate pictures before adding them!)

 Another Tatty Teddy card using a die-cut decoupage kit, but my own design. I cut off part of the right hand edge of the card and backed the inside of the card.

 I had one afternoon free to make about 20 small cards before a Christmas party. This was a very simple idea until I burnt my fingers on the toaster trying to heat emboss the stars (Thank you Santa for my heat tool for Christmas :-) )

 A card I made for friends at church for Christmas. I used a wooden embellishment in the centre and backing paper I got in a kit with stars on to add a bit more to the card. I'd hoped to cut an aperture and hang the nativity scene in the space but haven't quite figured out how to do that yet!

A father's day card for me dad. Again created using a Forever Friends die-cut kit and backing paper that came with it. It was the first card I gave that I'd decided the layout myself and it was well received :-)

I've got lots more ideas so will hopefully be adding more soon. First could be the birthday card I'm making for a lady I was bridesmaid for 22 years ago!

Hello *waves nervously*

Never tried this before but thought it might be worth it to keep track of all my crafty goings-on.

I only really started making cards last year and favoured decoupage using die-cut card sets but am now trying to branch out into other areas of card making, with the intention of not having to buy any cards next year!

I got lots of papercraft bits and bobs for Christmas and will get started soon once the Christmas craziness is completely over. I've taken pictures of some of the cards I've made previously so once I figure out how, I'll post some pictures!